Scoutmaster Musings

Scout Gift Ideas

I've noticed a few of the items from Guyot Designs showing up on camping trips since we began using their Squishy Bowls last year. By the way, I really love my squishy bowl and it's holding up great!One of the coolest items (that I'd never buy for myself, so it would have to be a gift) is their Firefly - a lid for your water bottle with a built-in light. It turns your bottle into a very cool nightlight/lantern.It makes an excellent alternative to a campfire in your Leave No Trace situations and is just a bunch of fun. A scout in the troop has one and we actually have used it for a 'campfire' in a cabin and in no-campfire areas.Our troop has had a rash of Life scouts over the past year and four of them are making Eagle in 2008. I've always enjoyed whittling on wood on our campouts so I started making personal fire pistons for those scouts reaching Eagle. I'm almost finished with my own son's gift! Now I've got to get started on one more kit here before Christmas so it's ready for the next court of honor.More than just an interesting way to make fire from nothing but air, the wood just feels nice and warm once its carved, smoothed, and oiled. You can find wood kits for scouts at Wildersol.com along with other firestarting items.Another classic fire starting method is Flint & Steel. Lots of scouts like to make sparks with those little strikers that are great for making a shower of sparks. That's a great way to learn how to create fire, but moving up to using a steel & flint gives more challenge. Creating the spark, catching it in duff, and coaxing it to a flame is a great confidence builder for the successful scout.Some Eagle scout brothers sell a very nice flint & steel set that includes rock, steel, charcloth, oakum, and instructions all in a nice tin.Visit Kris, Russ, and Ben at ScoutSkills.comAnd, hey, if you want to browse awhile, you can always go to ScoutStuff.org and check out the BSA Monopoly game, B-P jigsaw puzzle, or official scout harmonica.